Cupcake War Round 8: Haute Cupcakes VS Lola's Cupcakes
HAPPY NEW YEAR. Except it's February now.
Make sure to check out our Introduction to Cupcake War page for the rules and other rounds!
We had cupcakes for the new year, but they were cupcakes we hadn't tasted before, so it was a huge risk. Would our new year be delicious, or will it be meh?
Luckily, Zainab brought little chocolate molten cakes with ice cream. So we were fine.
I just figured it would really suck if we didn't AT LEAST finish the qualifying rounds in 2014. So this is the last of the qualifiers. We can move on to quarter-finals.
I can't even believe it.
Let's get to it.
The Judges:
Noor Nooruddin: She's going to stop writing this post because she just remembered that we have more of Zainab's cakes in the fridge so she's going to go eat one. Me. I'm going to go eat one.
Ali Haji: Why is he still doing this?
Zainab Abdulrahman: She interrupted her diet for this. That's commitment.
Reem Al Aseeri: With her cupcake love, her mojo, and her bunny onesie, she took the cupcake-judging world by storm. Lots of mojo. Mostly mojo.
Bader Shirawi: He went uncharacteristically quiet during the judging. Like a glorious fart, he was silent but deadly with his scores.
Nawaf Nooruddin: Our little Simon Cowell. But with more wardrobe diversity.
The Cupcakes
Haute Cupcakes
Cupcakes being judged:
Red Velvet & Bubblegum
Lola's Cupcakes
Cupcakes being judged:
Red Velvet & Rocky Road
IT'S TIME. TO TASTE.
Haute Cupcakes:
Red Velvet
Flavor Ratings (out of 10):
Noor: 5
Ali: 6
Nawaf: 6.5
Zainab: 4
Bader: 4
Reem: 7
Average: 5.4/10
Generally, the cake had a good consistency and didn't taste boxed. The issue was basically the frosting; it had a good consistency as well and many enjoyed the flavor, but everyone agreed that it was just too much frosting so it was overwhelming the senses and dominated the cake flavor. Overall an okay red velvet cupcake.
Pink Bubblegum
Flavor Ratings (out of 10):
Noor: 5
Ali: 5
Nawaf: 5
Zainab: 4
Bader: 6
Reem: 2
Average: 4.5/10
This was a weird one. It was such a strange flavor, I had to take it. The cake on the cupcake was actually pretty good, but I think the weirdness of the fact that the frosting tasted like bubblegum toothpaste kind of turned some of us off. Reem got angry because there's banana involved somewhere, I think it was in the cake. It was a strange but not necessarily bad experience for all of us. Except for Reem. She hates banana.
Lola's Cupcakes
Red Velvet
Flavor Ratings (out of 10):
Noor: 1.5
Ali: 1
Nawaf: 5
Zainab: 5
Bader: 0
Reem: 1
Average: 2.25/10
The cake itself tasted nice, but the frosting almost tasted like Kraft cheese. It's not the kind of cheese you want on cake. Although a couple of the judges didn't mind it (I think you can tell), the rest of us were not into the almost-savory cupcake.
Rocky Road
Flavor Ratings (out of 10):
Noor: 6.5
Ali: 4
Nawaf: 7
Zainab: 6.5
Bader: 4
Reem: 6.5
Average: 5.75/10
Overall, this cupcake did better than all three cupcakes in the round. The rocky road topping consisted of marshmallows, a nut I'm not sure of, and a drizzle of chocolate. The cake itself had a chocolate center. Everyone thought the cake was good, chocolate center included. The topping created a fun texture that was a little too much marshmallow for some, as it did end up getting chewy.
Extra Point Winners:
Presentation (+3): 4/6 went to Lola's Cupcakes and 2/6 went to Haute Cupcakes.
Accessibility (+3): 6/6 went to Haute Cupcakes, because of their boutique next to the Ritz and their branch in City Centre. Lola's Cupcakes has a stand in Al-Osra Budaiya and a bakery in Um Al-Hasam.
Menu (+2): 5/6 went to Haute Cupcakes because they have a gajillion flavors (no, seriously, they do). I went with Lola's Cupcakes because I really REALLY appreciate the option of having mini-cupcakes. I really REALLY appreciate it. And the fact that they have a menu. For Haute Cupcakes, you have to go and choose out of the display of a gajillion cupcakes. I like organized lists.
Value for Money (+2): 5/6 went to Haute Cupcakes because you get a funky cupcake 'experience' when you step into the shop to buy a cupcake. Like a candy land of cake. Zainab went with Lola's because although both cupcake places have basically the same price (about BD1.2 per cupcake), Lola's does offer the mini-cupcakes for half the price. So it's nice.
Totals
Congratulations: HAUTE CUPCAKES
Although Lola's Rocky Road technically performed better than all three other cupcakes, the Red Velvet and extra pointers really weighed it down, while Haute Cupcakes' flavors weren't particularly amazing, they still offered variety and accessibility convenience that Lola's would need to survive in the industry.
WE'RE FINALLY MOVING INTO QUARTER-FINALS!
Photography by: Ali Haji (Check out his Instagram @AliHajiPhotography)
Haute Cupcakes: @HauteCupcakesBH
Lola's Cupcakes: @LolasCupcakesBahrain
Follow @Shda3wa on Instagram too!
Thanks for reading!
